Funeral Home and Social Groups, an Important Part of American Society
Social groups have existed throughout human history, and are simplydefined as having two or more individuals who interact and identify withone another (Macionis). Social groups play a crucial role in our lives.They form a crucial part of the social relationships that determine humansocial behavior (Peter Berger Invitation to Sociology). Social groups can exist with in a wide and diverse framework. Theycan consist simply of social groups that are based on social categorieslike gender, race, class, interests, or age. They can also exist withininstitutions like family, law, religion, the media, education, medicine,business, nonprofit organizations, the arts, science, and professions.Social groups can include family groups (based on marriage and kinshiprelationships), work groups (based on employment), peer groups (based onage), and even friendship groups (based on feelings of friendship betweenmembers) (Peter Berger Invitation to Sociology). Group dynamics are driven by a number of different factors. Intra-group perspectives such as conformity, leadership, and group decision-making play an important role in group dynamics. Further, inter-group
As such, the funeral home is a unique organization thatallows members of diverse social groups interact. Further, the families that use funeralhomes for their services themselves share a common bond of bereavement, andform a tenuous social group. Despite thesecommon beliefs, the attraction of certain individuals to work at funeralhomes may be explained by the concept of consciousness of kind. In the funeralhome, these boundaries may help to keep an emotional and professionaldistance between the funeral home employees and bereaved families. Funeral Home The funeral home provides and interesting study of social groups andsocial functions. For example, the duties ofthe embalmer, the funeral director, and the landscaper are significantlydifferent. Primary social groups also exist within the social structure of thefuneral home. The more formalized social groups of the funeral home staff areclearly separated from those of their clients. Conclusion In conclusion, social groups are an important and diverse part ofAmerican society. In its formalized structure, consisting partly offuneral directors, embalmers, office staff, advertising staff, andgroundskeepers, the funeral home can clearly be defined as a bureaucraticinstitution. Many of the negative ramifications of operating within a bureaucraticstructure can be overcome. Based on my personal experience, there are several negativeramifications of operating within a bureaucratic structure. The attraction of members of the funeral home to the organization isdifficult for outsiders to understand. Formal organizations can act as a significant social group, and facetheir own special considerations. A variety of different social groups can be seen in theexample of a funeral home.
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